ITA Master Class
Kate Fahey, the 18th-ranked
singles player in the country,
made it to the semifinals
of the Oracle ITA Masters
Tournament this weekend.
» Page 3B
Ties that bind
Scott Frost and Jim
Harbaugh both came back
home to coach their alma
maters, and they faced off in
Ann Arbor on Saturday.
» Page 2B
Wolverines pummel Cornhuskers, 56-10
Josh Metellus knew it was
over after the first series.
Already up a touchdown,
the junior safety noticed
something askew: Nebraska
had lost its intensity. He
could see it in the way the
Cornhuskers’ receivers ran
their routes and how he got
blocked.
“After the first series when
they went back out there,
you knew they wanted to
give up,” Metellus said. “You
could just see it in their eyes.
It’s something you feel, it’s
not anything I can put into
words.”
Metellus was proven right
as No. 19 Michigan (1-0 Big
Ten, 3-1 overall) drubbed
Nebraska (0-1, 0-3), 56-10, to
cruise through its Big Ten
opener. The only sliver of hope
the Cornhuskers had Saturday
dwindled within seconds.
After a 32-yard pass on
the game’s second play,
quarterback Adrian Martinez
looked to have a receiver open
on a slant. But the paw of fifth-
year senior defensive tackle
Lawrence Marshall deflected
the pass into Metellus’ arms
for his second interception in
as many weeks.
“(Marshall) tipping that
ball just made a bad play into a
good play,” Metellus said.
On the ensuing drive,
redshirt junior running back
Karan Higdon scampered 46
yards to set up Michigan’s
first touchdown — a punch-in
score for Ben Mason. It was
one of three touchdowns for
the sophomore fullback, who
also lined up as tailback in the
absence of junior Chris Evans.
It was at that point — just
one score in — that Metellus
noticed the game had
changed.
“We knew they didn’t want
to play,” Metellus said. “You
could just tell the intensity
was kind of flat. It just gives
you that extra fuel like, ‘You
just made somebody not want
to play anymore.’ ”
Nebraska looked like they
didn’t indeed. After a quick
three-and-out, Higdon found
an enormous hole to score
untouched from 44 yards
and extend the Wolverines’
lead to 14-0. Returning from
injury, Higdon finished with
136 yards on 12 attempts — all
in the first half. His success
made for another light day
for junior quarterback Shea
Patterson, who was again
highly-accurate with 120
yards on 15-of-22 passing.
“Karan, I mean, he was
ready to go,” said coach Jim
Harbaugh. “He was ready to
play, you could see it from
really before the game. It was
great to have him back.”
Nebraska was out-played on
offense, too.
Michigan’s defensive
line was so dominant that
Martinez seldom had a
chance to make a play. The
Wolverines collected four
sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss,
adding up to 65 yards lost
on those plays. Michigan
domineered the Cornhuskers
physically and schematically.
“The discipline (by the
defense) in the run game was
evident today,” Harbaugh
said. “They didn’t run by
the quarterback, they didn’t
let the quarterback get out
scrambling and the rush lanes
were really condensed. And
they were on the quarterback
fast. It was good to see all
those guys play well up front.”
Zach Gentry put the game
further out of reach during
the second quarter. After a
five-yard touchdown catch,
the redshirt junior tight end
put his palms up in subdued
celebration and stared blankly
into the crowd. He was
seemingly asking the question
on everyone’s mind: “It’s this
easy?”
It was easy because the
Cornhuskers have a litany of
issues. That much is wildly
apparent a month into the
Scott Frost era. But the
Wolverines dominated from
start to finish nonetheless,
and that has them feeling
confident after three straight
wins.
“It’s starting to feel like
(2016),” said junior guard
Ben Bredeson. “There’s a big
maturity jump and people are
starting to feel it. … We want
to be that intimidating team
that we were in ’16. When we
rolled down the tunnel, people
would fear us. So we’re getting
back to that stature.”
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | September 24, 2018
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